Student hoodwinked by online kitten seller

Around 6 p.m. Friday, an officer was dispatched to an apartment at Level 27 in response to a theft. A Miami student claimed she had purchased two kittens online and that the distributor demanded increasingly large amounts of money before the pair could be sent.

The kittens, supposedly hailing from Oregon, were purchased Feb. 26. The distributor informed the victim that the delivery company would be in touch with her.

When she heard from the shipper, it claimed to need an $800 money order, $60 of which was for the kittens and the remaining $740 for a “flying fee.” She paid the money to an address in Cameroon.

Next, the victim was contacted by Global Air Pet Transport Mover, based at a different Cameroonian address, and charged a $2000 insurance fee, which she paid.

When she was approached for a $3500 “city permit,” she contacted OPD.

The website from which she purchased the kittens is no longer active, according to OPD.

Intoxicated male tries to steal Bruno’s tip jar

At 2:36 a.m. Saturday, officers were dispatched to Bruno’s Pizza, 31 E. High St., in reference to an attempted theft of the tip jar.

Miami sophomore Jake Bronson had first attempted to pay for his pizza with an invalid MU Bucks card, according to OPD. According to OPD, he made several failed attempts at payment before grabbing the tip jar, containing over $50, and attempting to abscond. He was sufficiently slowed down by bystanders in the pizza line so that owner Roger Perry could stop him, according to OPD.

An unsteady Bronson, with slurred speech and an alcoholic odor, was unable to follow simple instructions, according to OPD. His wallet was also discovered to contain two driver’s licenses: a Pennsylvania license with a different name, making him 23 years of age, and an Illinois license bearing Bronson’s real name and revealing him to be 19 years old.

He was put in a cruiser and driven to OPD. Upon arrival, Bronson refused to exit the vehicle. He stated, “I am resisting,” according to OPD. In response, the officer stepped back into the cruiser and drove straight to Butler County Jail.

It was throughout this drive that Bronson experienced waves of emotion, according to OPD. Initially, he offered to buy the officer a beer if he would let him go, according to OPD. His proposition was denied. Having then sobbed and mumbled nearly the entire journey, Bronson arrived at the prison having both urinated and soiled himself, according to OPD. The latter was uncovered after a pat-down.

Bronson was charged with attempted theft, offenses involving underage persons, and certain acts prohibited, according to OPD.